Board of SupervisorsBoard of Supervisors

Brad Wagenknecht

District 1

Term Expiring December 2018

Tel: (707) 253-4828Tel: (707) 253-4386Fax: (707) 253-4176

Brad has been a school teacher since 1977.During the first 10 years of his teaching career he taught emotionally disturbed adolescents. Since 1987 Brad has been teaching social studies at Redwood/Silverado Middle School in Napa. Brad graduated from a local high school in Napa and went on to graduate from the University of California-Santa Cruz with a degree in Political Science and Elementary Education.Brad has split his time teaching with public service since 1984, when he was elected to the Napa City Council. He has also served as Mayor to the City of Napa. In 1998 he was elected to the Napa County Board of Supervisors and began serving as the representative for District 1 in January 1999.

Brad grew up in the Browns Valley area of Napa and has three children: Gretchen, Fritz, and Max.Gretchen is a city planner and manages a retail clothing store in Petaluma. Fritz attends college in San Diego. Max is a full-time student at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon. Brad runs 300 days a year and plays basketball religiously.He spends his free time attending his kids’ sporting events and performances.

Issues Facing Napa County

The primary issue facing Napa County today is growth and development and maintaining the area's # 1 industry of agriculture. Long-term hotel development is also an important concern. It is imperative to determine how many hotels are needed and how they drive community values. Too many hotels could mean a transition to a total tourist economy. Thus, the cities and the County must agree on the number of hotels realistically needed to ensure that tourist needs are met without compromising the quality of life for our residents.

Napa's economy has been struggling along with other regions. The County has been conservative in its budgeting over the years, and that has proved to be our salvation, as state and federal funding sources have dried up. Napa County has made strides in the past year to create jobs for our citizens, such as the new local vendor preference policy, which gives job opportunities to vendors selling their services and goods to Napa County government.

Napa County has initiated a countywide gang and youth violence master plan, gathering in input from the cities, law enforcement, schools, and community groups, to combat a chronic problem.